Sheer Dumb Luck
by The Goliath Beetle
Summary: When Piper hurts herself, she and Aerrow go on a walk down memory lane, to when they first met, and how things have changed. Multi-chapter. Implied A/P but mostly friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Sheer Dumb Luck

**Okay, so, I know this has been done about one billion times before, but I'm just trying to kill writer's block here. And I'm trying a new angle. Tell me how it is! **

Piper's side hurt where she'd been stabbed earlier. It had finally stopped bleeding—Stork had managed to bandage it all up—but it kept oozing blood for hours, making her weaker, and draining every ounce of energy she had. Her request to go to her room and rest had been put down with a very firm 'no, not in a million years'. Aerrow knew her too well to let that happen. He knew as soon as she'd slip into her room, she'd start playing around with her crystals, regardless of how severely wounded she was.

Well, that was Piper for you.

She couldn't even sleep. The agony was intense. Piper couldn't turn to her side; she couldn't move around, she couldn't sit up. Basically everything she did hurt. After futile hours of attempting to drift asleep, she gave up, and lay staring at the ceiling. She was exhausted. The loss of all that blood had done her in. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make her self sleep—the pain was too much.

It happened when Dark Ace entered battle. The commander was a sour loser, it turns out. Not that she was surprised, of course, but the fact amused her a little. Aerrow had almost finished him off—Dark Ace just got extremely lucky to have escaped that last Lightning Strike attack. Tasting anger, the Cyclonian went for Piper, who was busy fighting five Talons.

It all happened very quickly. Before Aerrow could scream in warning, and before Piper heard him coming, Dark Ace had sucker-punched—and well. His sword drove deep into Piper's waist. All Piper could remember after that was her own scream, searing agony, and pure blackness.

When she woke, six hours later, she found herself in the infirmary, feeling groggy, and aware of a white-hot ache at her side. Then her senses told her about a certain someone sitting beside her, holding her hand, and rubbing gentle circles on her skin. His shirt almost mimicked the colour of his hair—red. Stained with blood.

When her eyes focused on his, did he notice that she was conscious. Aerrow had asked her all those 'formality' questions—How are you feeling? (Like crap), are you in any pain (Yes, a lot), do you want anything? (Calm down, I can barely register what you're saying!)

And then he proceeded to simply hold her hand like that, saying stuff like, "You got really lucky," and, "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

They hours moved like snails, because Aerrow just wouldn't tell her what happened after she got stabbed. He'd just shrug and mutter, "Nothing." Piper just didn't have the energy to argue. _Or_ point out that he really needed to change.

Her friends kept her company, but by the end of they day, all of the retreated to their rooms, leaving her in the blasted infirmary, all alone, and very bored. And, Piper suddenly realised, thirsty.

It then occurred to her that she hadn't had any water all day. Aerrow and Finn had somehow forced some food down her throat, but she ended up feeling queasy. She hadn't dared ask for water. The glass and the liquid were on the table beside her bed.

Just great.

Piper took a deep breath, as though readying herself for certain torture (Which she was), then, with enormous effort, lifted herself up.

She saw stars and let out a yelp. Her body, already tired and beaten, protested heavily. The girl was too exhausted to argue. She bit her bottom lip—she wasn't going to let a wound make her cry. Steadying herself, she tried again.

This time, she screamed in full, her eyes overflowing. She shrunk, hugging her side lightly, wishing the pain to stop. The pain had her too occupied to notice someone whispering, "Calm down, Piper! Shh...should I get Stork? Shh...Piper...!" He massaged her arms as he spoke—Piper's soothing technique.

When Piper finally calmed, Aerrow said, "Hey, I'm getting Stork." His eyes were filled with concern. She shook her head furiously.

"I want some water," her mouth was parched. Aerrow poured her some water, and helped her drink.

"Take a painkiller," he said, handing her a small white pill. Piper grimaced, but obeyed. She wasn't in the mood to argue—she wasn't in the mood for anything. Aerrow still gave her a worried gaze.

Piper read his mind. Before he could ask, she said, "If you want to help, keep me company. I'm bored."

"You should rest," he muttered, giving her a half-hearted glare. Piper rolled her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked him seriously. "After I was stabbed, what happened?"

Aerrow looked to his feet in a defeated sort of way. "It's my fault." He spoke softly. "You just...fell. You screamed, and you fell. Your heliscooter hit the Wastelands, and you..." he gulped.

"I...?"

"...Could have died. You crash-landed. I couldn't catch you." The last sentence was spoken with remorse. Aerrow growled. "I couldn't catch you! You managed to live because you got lucky. _Extremely _lucky!"

"Aerrow, calm down," she cried. Just that little thing caused her energy to drain again, and she had to gasp for air. Aerrow noticed, and immediately calmed.

"I'm sorry," he said, gazing at his feet again. "When I found you...you were bleeding so much..."

"Will you calm down already?" she muttered. "Can we talk about something better?"

"It's my fault," Aerrow continued as though he hadn't heard a word she had said.

Piper felt like smacking him and hugging him at the same time. "Think about it this way," she said, "If I had never met you, then you wouldn't have 'found me'. I probably would have died. So don't blame yourself. Congratulate yourself."

Aerrow gave her a thoughtful look. Then, "We were...how old?"

"Nine," she said with a grin. Finally, a lighter topic of discussion! "I broke your model of the _Ultra-Matrix 900." _That happened to be the coolest skimmer those days.

"You fixed it too," Aerrow said with a guilty shrug.

Piper chuckled. Yes, she remembered the day she had met him. They swore themselves as enemies. Whether or not she had fixed his toy skimmer, Aerrow had resented her for ever breaking it.

They lived in the same village, but had never spoken. Until that fateful day. Piper, nine, with her midnight coloured hair only to her shoulders, had gone collecting berries. Her mother used to make the best fruit salads, and Piper loved collecting all kinds of stuff in the forest. She'd found a blue crystal—a dead, used one, of course, lying on the forest floor, and promptly fell in love with it. After that day, she was never seen without it. She's made a necklace with it.

Truth be told, Piper blamed the whole incident on the boy. If he hadn't startled her, she wouldn't have punched his nose—breaking his toy in the process.

Halfway through berry-collecting, Piper noticed a weird 'vroom vroom' sound coming from a clearing. Inquisitive like a mouse, she went to investigate. But as she got closer, the noise stopped. The clearing was empty.

Then Aerrow came up from behind her saying, "I've never seen you bef—" Piper jumped out of her skin so badly, without thinking, she whipped around and socked the boy right in the nose.

There was a loud crack. For one moment in horror, both children thought she'd broken his nose. Then, a glorious wooden toy in his hands, snapped into half. Aerrow, who'd just gotten the model, blinked, processing this information.

His most beloved possession had just broken neatly into two halves, badly splintered, and ruined. The words _'Ultra-Matrix 900' _were chipped. The whole thing suddenly lost its charm.

It was Piper who spoke first. "Sorry! You scared me! I didn't mean to break your toy."

Aerrow had classic masculine ego—even for his age. "You broke it!" he screamed, "How could you break it! What did I do to you?"

"It was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean to! My mother says I should always be prepared for attack—Because of Cyclon—"

But Aerrow didn't have the patience for her speech. "FIX IT!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "NOW!"

Remembering, Piper burst out laughing. Aerrow, apparently having the same memory, chuckled alongside. "I was mean!" Aerrow cried, laughing harder.

"I was smart," Piper shot. Of course she was. Who else would try to fix a broken toy with sticky berry-juice?

The pain in her side had reduced, and the exhaustion began setting in with full force. The red head noticed it. "Get some sleep. Seriously."

Piper nodded, her head heavy. She was starting to feel a bit dizzy.

With Aerrow holding her hand, the girl closed her eyes.

**TBC**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it so far. Love you all! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the LONG wait!**

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Pain.

It was all she knew.

All she felt.

All she thought.

All she believed.

All she trusted.

Her whole world was searing, white-hot pain.

Piper's eyes snapped open. The liquid on her face was a mixture of sweat and tears. She couldn't stop a yelp as shestarted weeping. It wasn't stopping. It was getting worse. So much worse.

All that pain!

"Piper?" someone said seriously. She couldn't even concentrate on the speaker. She was vaguely aware that someone had entered the room, but the pain didn't let her think. "Piper? Why are you crying!" The voice died from a cry of surprise to a mutter of annoyance. "Aw man, what do you do when a girl cries!"

There was a squawk that sounded like someone was saying, 'Oh boy...' and 'For heaven's sake!' together.

Then a glass of cool water was thrust down Piper's throat. Someone was wiping her forehead with a wet cloth. A pill was forced down her mouth.

Gradually, the pain subsided. Things became clearer. The girl's eyes focused on a patch of sky blue fur on her bed, and a blonde haired boy standing beside it. Both wore expressions of concern.

"Should we call Stork?" asked Finn.

Suddenly drained, Piper fell back into the pillows. "No..." she said weakly. The last thing she needed was more fussing. Finn was carrying a plate. Breakfast.

"It's lunch," Finn said, when she saw her eyeing the food. To her unspoken question, he elaborated, "You slept in...It's almost one in the afternoon!"

Piper sighed. She hated waking up late. It made her feel disgusting. She was dying to have a nice bath with warm water and lots of soap bubbles—pamper herself. Then she wanted to hair-dry her locks of midnight blue, slip into a new set of clothes, and drink something sweet and cold, like juice, or coke.

Like that was going to happen.

Aerrow wasn't going to let her stand, much less have a whole bath.

Finn handed her the plate. It was a clumsy attempt at mac and cheese. It was a little overcooked and watery, but otherwise, alright. The boy watched her, engaged, as she took the first bite.

Piper cringed. "Who made this!" she asked loudly.

Finn looked a little startled. "Me! Yeah! You ate food made by the Finn-Man!"

Piper gave him a look. Radarr slapped his forehead. Finn said, "Isn't it awesome?"

In truth, it was tasteless, tough, stringy, and horrible. But who was Piper to talk? She couldn't even stand. And anyway, Finn meant well. "It's really good," she lied. Piper really wondered why she was trying to protect his feelings. He was annoying, mean, irritating, and always, _always, _fooled around with her stuff.

But he was, Piper reflected, like a little brother. And she knew, no matter how much she showed anger towards him, she'd do anything to help him, if he were in any real danger. She even knew that Finn would do the same for her. And really, pasta was just pasta. The world wouldn't collapse unto itself if she lied about it being excellent.

"I know, right," he gloated. When Piper bore her eyes into him, he straightened up and said, "I convinced Junko not to make it, if it makes you feel any better." Then he burst out laughing.

Radarr chuckled too. It seemed to be some kind of inside joke. Piper didn't even want privy to it. She really didn't care. Though she had to admit, Finn's cooking was better than Junko's. Any day.

Lunch was an ordeal.

At least as long as Finn was there with her (The first ten minutes). After that, at least she could swallow it all really fast, and when she really couldn't take any more, begged Radarr to eat the leftovers.

A little disgruntled, he agreed.

* * *

Through the day, Stork, Junko and even Starling came to check on how she was doing. But where was Aerrow? He wouldn't just abandon her like that, would he? Finn and Radarr came again, to keep her company. Finn with his cursed guitar.

"No, Finn, NO!" Piper cried, covering her ears. Radarr gave a scream of agony and dashed out of the infirmary. Finn, oblivious, just played louder.

"OH YEEAAAAH! ROCK ON BABY! WHOO!"

"STOP!" Piper yelled. Her strength didn't permit her to snatch the evil acoustic from him. It was Stork, running, yelling about 'Frequency Ferret Infestation' that finally made the boy stop.

Stork, wordlessly, took the guitar from him, and broke it.

"What the-!" Finn cried. "That's so not fair!" His voice became a whine.

"Deal with it," Stork muttered and stamped away, leaving the sharpshooter with what remained of the musical instrument.

Piper, her voice weak, cried out, "Wait...Where's Aerrow?" She had all reasons to wonder. It was almost nighttime.

Stork stopped dead in his tracks. Even Finn shut up. Radarr peeked his head from around the door.

"He couldn't find any heal crystals." It was Finn who spoke. And so softly, Piper barely heard him. When she did actually figure out what he had said, she groaned.

Heal crystals were characteristically rare. Even she didn't have them. And not only were they rare, but extremely effective. And even if you did find them, they had a minor disadvantage.

They only worked at twelve noon. It was a property of crystals, called the Solaroid Theory. Certain crystals needed a certain amount of energy, at a certain wavelength, at a certain time to work. There were other crystals that only worked at three in the morning, some were most powerful under a full moon. For example, the light crystal glowed brighter in the dark (Lunar Solaroid Theory—It absorbs light from the sun, and reflects it all back at night.)

Crystals that worked on this Solaroid principle were very, very efficient. No one really knew why. It was one of the unsolved mysteries of Crytalography.

"He's gone to find a heal crystal?" she asked weakly.

Junko, who'd entered the room, nodded. "He left after breakfast," the wallop explained.

"Oh..." Piper fell into the pillows for the second time that day. Typical. So typical of Aerrow. "Any idea where he went? And why he didn't take Radarr with him?"

"He said it was dangerous," said Finn, "And that he didn't want any of his teammates to get hurt."

"We tried to argue," Junko said, "But he wouldn't have it."

"He said something about Terra Luvaria," said Stork. "Luvaria! The most dangerous place ever known to any Atmosian! There are mangrove swamps and murk-monsters, and Luvarian Mind-Worms, and South-Atmosian Triple Hogs and Poison Ivy and Poison Grace and—"

"Poison Grace?" Finn interrupted, skeptical. "Is that a gimmick? Like 'Poison Ivy'? 'Poison Grace'? 'Poison Stephanie'? 'Poison Laura'? 'Poison Annabel'? 'Poison Miche—"

"IT EXISTS!" Stork yelled. "It gives you Muth-Death Disease!"

"That sounds like the biggest load of..."

Piper sighed. Terra Luvaria was a swamp, yes, but it wasn't home to 'Poison Grace' or any of its other variations. The main concern there were the bogs. If you stepped in one, you were dead. Dead, buried, forgotten.

She gulped. Worry flooded like the worst kind of tsunami. She needed Aerrow to come back.

NOW!

* * *

_Grey. Black. White. Red. Orange. _

_Firey orange. _

_Bloody red. _

_Thick, unbearable, suffocating, violent. _

_The screams tasted like mud. Heavy. Wet. _

_Horror. _

_This was the definition of horror. _

_And somewhere in the blur, someone you love, says, "Baby, run! Into the forest. Go!"  
_

_You're only ten. It tears you. Rips you apart. "Mommy! Come with me! I'm scared!" Piper burst into a sob. _

_Her mother held her, as tightly as she could. "I will, baby, but I have to help these people." _

_Help who? People? That's such a vague word! You don't care about 'people'. 'People' can do what they like. You want your mother to carry you to some place safe. Forget about 'people'. Forget about help. War should mean that you should try to survive. SURVIVE! Forget people! SAVE YOURSELF! SAVE YOURSELF!_

_Piper felt it all. The anger, the despair, the fear. Why, why did her mother care about everyone else! Wasn't caring for Piper enough? WHY? Her thoughts became too destructive for her liking, and she tuned back into reality. _

_The building across the street exploded._

_Gone. _

_Shattered. _

_Ruined. _

_Finished. _

_Destroyed. _

_Piper was on the hard ground, still being held by her mother. "GO, Piper, NOW!"_

_The girl knew better than to disobey. As she ran, she was sure, in the distance, she heard her mother say, "Wait for me! I'll come as soon as I can."_

_She never came. _

Piper woke in the middle of the night, her eyes moist. The flashback was powerful. Her terra had been taken over by the Cyclonians. She hurriedly wiped away the wetness. Just like that, she was scared of losing Aerrow. Where was he? He'd left her, just like her mother had. He'd deserted her, and she would never see him again.

She hugged herself, and cried.

And a voice said, through the darkness, "Piper? Why are you crying?"

Music to her ears.

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**A sort-off cliffy, yes? No? **

**I was going to make it much longer, but it felt nice to leave it here. I'll update as soon as I find time. Year Ten going on here, and that means 'study or die'. You get the drift...**

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews you guys! Really made my day.**

**And if you review this chapter, I might update sooner. I could really use the motivation. XD  
Thanks for reading!**

**Bye! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Taaadaaaan! I'm back…for all those who remember me… o_O **

**It's been a while, hasn't it? And I'm writing this while my exams are going on, too. Okay, well, here I go!**

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Piper looked in the darkness, following the voice. Searching. "Aerrow?" Because, who else could sound so…him.

Aerrow fiddled around in the dark, and switched on a night lamp. His mop of red hair and happy green eyes bore her through, purely concerned. "You're in pain? You okay?" Piper sat agape, looking at him. Taking him in. He'd been in the wars. His forehead was covered in white gauze, along with his hands and one foot. He was covered in scratches and bruises; but still…all he cared about, was her.

Piper didn't know whether to be relieved or not. Seeing Aerrow again was magic. Seeing him like this…? She felt a mixture of happiness and anger, and an underlying sorrow. "What happened to you?" she whispered.

Aerrow shrugged. "This? Stork says I'll be fine my tomorrow."

Piper sighed. "What happened?"

Aerrow's eyes broke contact with hers. "I went to Terra Luvaria…" he paused, probably trying to find the right words. Piper listened. She knew this first part, of course, but how did this story end? "Note to self…and advice to you," he started, "Never ignore Stork's ramblings."

Piper almost giggled. "Why?"

"Turns out…South-Atmosian Triple Hogs have three heads." He paused for effect. "And each head has three horns."

Piper almost slapped her forehead. Nice. Oh wow. Never underestimate _those _creatures, huh. "But anyway," Aerrow snapped, "What happened to you? Why were you crying?"

She rolled her eyes. "I had a nightmare." Wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a whole lie either. When his deep eyes forced their way into hers, she broke, and confessed. Tears threatened to fill her eyes again, but Aerrow didn't say a word until she was done.

A short silence filled the air like the smell of stagnant water. Then he spoke. "The same dream?" She nodded. She'd had dreams like that years ago, when her orphaned state was fresh.

Aerrow looked at her sadly. "If I could, I'd come there and hug you." And he tried to sit up until Piper yelled him down again. He sighed. "But you know you've got us now. And we're a family."

"Yeah, Yeah I know that." It was a speech Aerrow had coined _YEARS _ago. It hadn't lost it's charm yet, but Piper knew it off by heart.

Aerrow looked at her again, and said, "Remember what happened after that? The woods…?"

Piper giggled. "You're forgetting. That's later."

Aerrow smirked in amusement. "Oh yeah…"

"Did you find heal crystals?" Piper asked, suddenly interested. Aerrow shook his head.

"How did you—"

"Stork."

"Ah."

Another pause. This one, more awkward.

Then, "Hey, Piper…how old were we?"

"Ten."

Aerrow sighed, thinking. "So I was ten when the roof collapsed on me, huh?"

Piper knew what had happened to Aerrow. It was worse than what she had to suffer. "Yeah…the roof…" She'd watched as he, the lone survivor of that mess crawled out from under that rubble, leaving the corpses of his mother and older brother inside.

She saw in her mind's eye, as a bleeding, shaken, wounded Aerrow struggled to stand.

_**He's the toy skimmer guy!**__ Was what she thought when she saw him stand. She had half a mind to keep running, but her legs disobeyed. They made her slow down to a stop. They made her go to him. They willed her to help him walk. _

_Together. _

_Into the woods. _

_In silence. _

_The woods prompted Aerrow's first words in what seemed like hours. _

"_Where are we going?" His voice was weak and breathless. It made no effort to hide pain. _

"_My mother told me to wait in the woods," a naïve little Piper answered. "Are you alright?"_

"_Do I look alright?"_

_She glared at him. So, he couldn't walk, but he had the gall to snap at his only helper. "I'll drop you here and let you be. I don't even know why I decided to help you."_

_There was a small silence, smothering the sounds of the forest. "Yes," Aerrow rasped, "I have no idea why you helped, but I'm glad you did." Another small pause. "Thanks."_

"_Don't mention it." Her voice wasn't hard anymore. Her eyes didn't cry anymore. Her hope didn't die anymore. Right now, she had to walk. And help him walk. So she did. _

_Aerrow fell silent after that. Talking probably exhausted him. When her legs were as lead, she decided to stop. Carefully, she set him down. He still moaned in pain, but was relatively quiet. The bleak emptiness of a forest at night swarmed like a hive of angry bees. Piper ignored it, concentrating solely on her other senses. Forget vision, she told herself. Feel. Hear. Smell. Taste, if you have to. But be cautious. Be alert. Be aware. _

_She felt for a sleeve of her full length shirt and with one go, ripped it off. Aerrow heard. _

"_What's that?" he whispered. _

"_It's me. Where are you hurt?"_

"_My leg is the worst." _

_Piper would never forget how it felt. How much it hurt, and how much he didn't show. Her hands were soaked in blood, but she tried, as carefully as she could, and managed to tie a half-baked bandage. _

"_I'm sorry," she whispered for the umpteenth time, trying not to breathe in the reek of blood. _

"_I'm fine," he insisted. "Where is your mother?"_

_Where __**was**__ her mother? _

_It just occurred to her. Wasn't it hours ago that they'd parted ways?_

_Morning revealed everything. _

Piper shuddered, remembering. "I can't stop thinking about it," she confessed.

Aerrow looked at her. "I shouldn't have brought it up, sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Hmm…"

"Hey, Aerrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you won't go to Terra Luvaria again?"

He looked at her earnest eyes and smiled. "Not alone." He switched off the night lamp. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

But the words reverberated in her head.

_Not alone._

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**This chapter didn't want to be written. Oh well. Read and review! Ciao! **


	4. Chapter 4

**You'd think I've died, honestly. I've been away THAT long. xD.**

**And to angel on wings: Thank you! I always get confused at that spelling xP**

Aerrow woke up suddenly. He looked about, frantic, until his eyes finally fell on the clock beside him. It was six in the morning.

He felt fine. His wounds, he knew, had healed, thanks to Stork's weak, but useful Blu-Dose cream. It was magic on small injuries.

His eyes wafted over to Piper, and all the happiness he had felt when he realized he was all better went away. She was breathing heavily and was very pale. You could actually tell even through her dark skin. She didn't look particularly comfortable, either.

Aerrow suddenly had a vision of her dying.

What would he do without her!

He shook his head. He shouldn't think like that. Everything was going to be alright.

He was going to _make_it alright.

Even if it meant going back to…

For Piper.

Determinedly, he got up and got out of bed. His side ached, but only a little. He peeled off all the ridiculous bandages and braced himself as he took the first step.

Slowly, tiredly, he made it to his room. He wore a clean set of clothes and stepped out.

Going over to Stork's chamber, he gulped. No-one had ever entered Stork's room. And Finn, who had allegedly tried, had said that Stork was an alien. Naturally, Stork lost his temper and started going on about Extra-Terrestrial Mind Worms and the serious threat they posed to human-kind.

Aerrow knocked twice, hoping that Stork was awake. And to his utmost surprise, the Merb opened the door, looking slightly demented, but more-or-less awake.

"I have very very sharp hearing," he said darkly. "That way I know if the mind-worms are coming…"

"Oh," said Aerrow, momentarily lost for words. Finding some, he said, "We need to go to Terra Atmosia. ASAP."

"How are you?" Stork said as he crept out of his room and ambled to the bathroom.

"Better, thanks."

"Okay." And Stork closed the door behind him.

Some five minutes later, he came out, and said, "So, why Atmosia? Wasn't Luvaria enough for you?"

Aerrow shrugged. "Central Atmosian Hospital headquarters. They'd be able to do something for Piper, I suppose."

"Hmm…Yes." So Stork went to the bridge with Aerrow behind him.

The merb started up the engine, pulling the Condor from 'hover' mode.

Aerrow stood back, hating every moment of it. He had a strange dislike for hospitals. And this particular hospital, especially. Unfortunately, they were the best. You could trust they'd have a cure for Piper's serious injury.

He groaned softly as the flashback came to him. He tried not to think about it, but it was impossible. That _moment_changed his life so completely, he'd never be the same again.

_Piper and Aerrow fell asleep as morning approached, but not for long._

The Sky Knight Council had ordered all the sky knights to aid the terras that had been raided.

This is what brought the Red-Wings to them.

_There was a very very loud 'WOOOOOOSHH-ROAR' sound. It sent a cool breeze through the forest, and the children, who'd been startled awake, saw a huge airship whizzing overhead._

"_We're saved!" Aerrow cried, overjoyed._

_Piper laughed in happiness. "Maybe they'll find my mom! She must have been held up. It was real messy last night, wasn't it?"_

_The unanimous decision was that they get out of the forest and towards the airship._

_Aerrow, heavily supported by Piper, limped out. They had to stop for breath several times. The boy had lost too much blood, and already felt very light-headed._

_But finally, they saw the canopy part, and the ruins of the city caught their eyes._

"_Maybe they're sky-knights," Aerrow said excitedly._

_But Piper wasn't listening. She was looking._

_It was all over. Nothing—not one building—was left standing. There were corpses everywhere, and as they got closer, even Aerrow shut up._

"_I knew him!" the boy said suddenly, looking at the body of a man sprawled on the ground. "He used to live near-by." His voice broke as the first tear began to slip down his face._

_Even Piper choked as she said, "Come…we need to find the sky-knights…"_

_But the sky-knights found them._

_Which was all very well, because suddenly, all the strength was knocked out of Aerrow's legs. The combination of blood-loss and mental trauma finally took it's toll. _

_An older woman—probably in her early twenties, was followed by a man who also looked around the same age. They both wore read uniforms, with a golden phoenix symbol on them._

_Piper and Aerrow looked up as the came. The woman looked a bit surprised to find the children, but also relieved._

"_Hello," she smiled and knelt to their level. Even the man bent down to smile at them._

"_H-hello," Piper said nervously._

"_My name is—" the woman began, but the man cut her off._

"_Tara," he said seriously, "Does he look a bit familiar to you?" and his eyes fell on Aerrow._

_Aerrow looked startled._

_The woman, Tara, looked at Aerrow a little, and frowned. "Acutally…he does," she said thoughtfully. "A bit like good ol' Lightning Strike, don't you think?"_

_The man nodded. "Amen." There was something very sorrowful in his voice._

_Tara shrugged. "Hey, kids," she said again, her voice soft and kind, "You're hurt and cold…why don't we take you back to our ship and warm you up?"_

_Piper was about to speak, but Aerrow cut her off. "How do we know you're not Cyclonians in disguise!" he spat._

_Tara smiled. "Good question. How do you know, hmm?"_

_The man said, "Because we kick Cyclonian butt," and he winked at them. "Now come on." And without waiting for an answer, he scooped up the more injured of the two and started to walk back._

_Piper ran close to Tara. "Are you a sky-knight?" she asked hopefully._

_Tara chuckled and shook her head. "Cohen is," and she looked in the direction of the man. "I'm the crystal expert."_

"_Ooh!"_

_Tara looked seriously at Piper, and said, "I want you to tell me something."_

"_What?"_

"_Where are your parents?"_

_Piper said, "Daddy left when I was two. Mom…she was supposed to meet me in the forest last night."_

"_Oh?"_

"_I don't know why she didn't come…"_

"_Alright, sweetie," Tara smiled, "What's your name?"_

"_Piper."_

"_Okay then, Piper." Their airship came upon the land very suddenly. It was huge, and was an elegant—if not overpowering—red and gold._

_Aerrow asked Cohen, "So…you're really sky-knights? I heard Tara tell that girl that you are."_

_He nodded and smiled. "We're the Red-Wings." And quite suddenly, he shouted, "Stev!"_

_A boy, probably in his late teens was carrying some blue thing in his arms. He looked up at Cohen._

"_Take him to the infirmary. Now. Looks like he's going to need professional treatment."_

"_Gotcha," said Stev as he let the blue thing in small cage and picked Aerrow up._

_The younger boy gulped.__**Professional**__treatment? What in Atmos did that mean?_

_As Stev took Aerrow, he said, "By the way, Coh, that sky-monkey's a bit fidgety. I don't know what we're going to do about it. We can't keep it, can we?"_

"_We'll see when we get to Atmosia. Right now, let's just salvage what's left."_

_And, carrying the young boy, Stev walked away._

"We'll be coming upon Atmosia in an hour…Aerrow…Hello? Mind-worms get you? AERROW!"

The redhead jumped out of his reverie and said, "Oh, okay then…"

Great.

He felt restless. Really restless.

"Hey…I'm going to just…I'm going for a ride."

Stork rolled his eyes. "Don't get lost. I ain't gonna slow down the ship for you. We're running low on energy-crystals as it is, and I'm not going to go looking for you. We'll be doomed, otherwise."

Aerrow grinned. "Don't worry."

He dashed to the hangar and leapt onto his skimmer.

**There. One more chapter DONE :D**

**How was it?**

**Thank you :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**:P I have dutifully updated on time, and I want to thank all my readers. **

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The Condor pulled up towards Atmosia. Aerrow had returned a long time ago. Piper still wasn't awake (one more reason for Aerrow to worry), even though everyone else were up and about. Including Finn.

"Aerrow," Stork said, "The Condor's too big. I can't bring it into the parking."

The redhead frowned. "Piper's too badly hurt to take on a skimmer, Stork," he said.

Stork nodded gravely, and said, in an undertone, something about doom, before he announced, "I have an idea." And he proceeded to make radio contact with the hospital's staff.

"Hello, Central Atmosian Hospital, how can I help you?"

"Could you send a stretcher or something-?" Stork began but Aerrow snatched the mouthpiece from him.

"We have a patient on board. She's out cold. Our ship's too large to land in your compound. We're hovering overhead. The Condor. Could you please send some sort of transport?"

"Yes sir. No problem."

And within minutes, a smaller airship floated towards them. They landed in the hangar and took an unconscious Piper from Junko's arms, holding her carefully.

"Aerrow," Finn said seriously, "Go with her. We'll come with the skimmers."

It was one of the more sensible things Finn had said. Aerrow didn't need to be told twice. He hopped into the 'ambulance'.

The medics on board said, "Whoever's done the bandaging knew what they were doing."

"Thanks," Aerrow said, "That was Stork."

But the medics weren't listening. They were doing all sorts of things to Piper—checking her vitals, barking instructions…

Aerrow felt a rising sense of panic he tried to force down.

_As Stev got Aerrow inside the airship, the pilot, a short, muscular man shouted, "Oh good god! He looks like Lightning, don't he?"_

"_A little," Stev said. _

"_Who is Lightning?" Aerrow asked innocently._

_The pilot looked stunned. "The greatest sky-knight ever, laddie, he was."_

"_What happened to him?"_

_The pilot took his hat off. "Died a brave death. Betrayed. Good man, he was. Good sky-knight."_

_Before the pilot could say any more, Stev said, "Set co-ordinates for Atmosia, Bir, please. He's going to need a proper doctor for this." And without another word, whisked Aerrow off to the infirmary. _

_Stev, it turned out, was the healer. He had some practice with medicine, his father being a doctor, but he'd never really taken much of an interest in the science. He carefully laid Aerrow on a bed, saying, "Lousy bandage. Still, better than nothing."_

_He took out some sort of evil-smelling fluid, a dab of cotton and started to peel off the torn shirt sleeve off Aerrow's leg. "This might sting," he warned as he started to clean the wound. _

_Sting?_

_If Aerrow had the energy, he would have jumped and dashed for it. Tears sprang from his eyes, as he gasped for breath. _

"_Easy, kid," Stev said encouragingly. "There, all done." The healer covered up the wound in a proper dressing. "You alright?"_

_Aerrow was anything but alright. He felt he might pass out. He closed his eyes to try and make the room stop spinning. _

"_You're going to need blood," Stev said darkly, "You've lost too much."_

_Aerrow wasn't listening. Not really. _

_Just then, Tara's voice floated into the room. "Check her out, would you?" _

_Aerrow's eyes snapped open, only to meet Piper's amber ones. _

"_Sure," said Stev. After a couple of minutes, he said, "She'll live. Just a few bruises here and there. Nothing serious."_

"_I thought so," Tara said. _

"_So, missy," Stev said with a twinkle in his dark eyes, "What's your name?"_

"_I'm Piper," she said shyly. _

"_Piper. How nice," he replied and he sounded genuinely pleased. His eyes went to Aerrow. "That your brother, Piper?"_

_She shook her head furiously. "I don't even know his name!"_

"_I'm Aerrow," he said, surprised at how horse his voice was. _

"_Aerrow," Piper repeated. She cautiously approached him with her hand outstretched. "It's nice to meet you."_

_The boy accepted, shaking her hand. "You too."_

They were now zooping through the hospital corridors. It all smelled so clean. Reeking of antiseptic. Aerrow loathed the smell.

He remembered the place very well.

It wasn't the treatment, or the wounds that Aerrow was afraid of. It was just all that _pain. _Sick people, about to be diagnosed. The fear they had. The people about to be cured. The agony they needed to go through.

And Piper was taken to surgery. Apparently, one of her organs needed repairing.

Aerrow groaned.

Coupled with Piper's condition, the place seemed even more depressing.

"How is she?" Finn came up from behind.

"They say she'll be fine," the leader replied, not sounding convinced.

"How bad was it?" he prodded.

Aerrow shrugged. "Could have been worse," he replied vaguely. "Could have been a lot worse."

The boys stood in silence.

Until Aerrow suddenly gave a yelp of surprise. He dashed off down a corridor in apparent hurry. Finn followed too, confused.

Aerrow had stopped at the threshold of a ward. It wasn't a private room. There were several beds, and some of them had inhabitants, too.

Finn looked quietly at Aerrow, to whom this place seemed important.

And the boy spoke.

His voice was soft, but you could hear what he was saying.

"I was here," he began, "On this bed," and he sat down on an empty bed. "When that woman came to see me."

Woman? Finn listened quietly. Aerrow never spoke about his past much.

"She was from a Home. You know the kind. With a capital 'H'. An orphanage."

Finn exhaled loudly.

"She said she could take in me and Piper." Aerrow looked up at Finn with an indecipherable look in his eyes. "She implied that we were nobody's children." His voice had become hard, cold. His green orbs became steely.

Finn was at a loss for words. For probably the first time ever.

"And then…there we went. To the worst place on earth."

_Love was a myth. A myth. A myth. A myth. _

_The food was the same—cold, under-cooked, inedible. _

_Aerrow went hungry so many times. _

_Piper wasn't any better off. She'd become reclusive. Quiet. She didn't get along with the other girls much. They thought she was weird. She'd spend all her time with her books. She and Aerrow would talk about the future, sometimes. _

_They'd tell each other they'd grow up and live next-door to each other, and they'd never need anyone else. As long as they had a friendship, everything was okay. _

"I used to feed the strays with my dinner," Aerrow said darkly. "Once, I fed the sky-monkey. You know? The one they released in Atmosia? He found his way to me, so I fed him." Aerrow looked up at Finn knowingly. "I named him Radarr. Because he'd be really smart to find me. Like a radar."

Finn smirked. "I knew it."

Aerrow shook his head. "You don't. And good, too." He got up. "Come on, let's go get some coffee or something."

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**I'm not TOO happy with this chapter, mostly because it was a filler, and I don't like fillers. xD**

**Anyway, I thought this interaction between Finn and Aerrow was required. Finn, as a character (in my opinion, at least), needs more than one side. Everyone knows him as the idiot with a guitar. I thought I might try and add some depth to him. Hehehe…Thanks for reading! Please leave a review. :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I am SO not in the mood of writing this it's not funny, but I thought I better update. **

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Piper's eyes opened. She felt absolutely horrid. There was some kind of sludge dripping into her arm. She felt groggy and exhausted. And sick. Her head was pounding and her side hurt like death itself. She took one shuddering gasp, and then another, before finally suppressing the panic. She looked around. The room was white-walled and smelled strange. She was hooked to all kinds of tubes and machines, including one that measured her heartbeat.

With a sour shock, she realized she was in a hospital.

Her friends were sleeping on the chairs around the room. It must have been late. All of them looked drained with worry, and Piper was all to blame. She saw the boy with flaming red hair and Radarr sleeping on his lap.

Aerrow looked terrible. Piper didn't want to wake him, but she felt restless. She wanted someone to talk to. She wanted to grab his hand and squeeze it, but she was too weak, and he was too far away.

_Piper stared at the unconscious boy. He looked smaller in the white-sheeted bed, and his hair was in stark contrast with the surroundings. There were a lot of machines all around him, and a bottle that was supplying him with blood. Much needed blood. _

_Piper shuddered. _

_She felt bile rising in her throat. She was frightened of this horrible place, and died for her mother to hold her. The sky-knights were still looking for the woman, and Piper was certain they would find her. Her mother was quite striking. You couldn't miss her. _

_Slowly, cautiously, she took the boy's limp hand. She was scared of hurting him and let go almost immediately, but the feel of live skin reassured her. The world hadn't ended yet. _

_His eyes opened. He was pale and obviously in pain, but he looked at her and blinked. She let herself get lost in those leaf green eyes. Someday, sometime, she knew she had to face facts, but for now, she'd be safe. Safe inside those beautiful green eyes. _

"_Pi-per…" he whispered, his voice horse. "Pi-per."_

"_I'm right here," she said as warmly and as strongly as she could. _

"_Don't leave me," he pleaded. "Please."_

_There was so much pain in that sentence. It struck her how much he had lost. His family, his home, his friends, and his health in the same day. He was not even twelve! She suddenly felt it all. An entire river of compassion. And empathy. There were times, Piper realized, when people needed people. And moral resolve and mental strength simply gave way. _

"_I'm not leaving you," she promised with a smile. _

"_Promise?" he asked. _

_She smiled as protectively as she could. "Promise."_

"Aerrow…" she half-moaned, half cried. Her voice was so dry it felt as though it was coming out of a rock. She could barely hear herself. There was no way he could listen to her begging. "Aerrow…" she put more effort into it this time, making it louder. Clearer.

He woke with a start, looking like he'd had a bad dream. He searched around frantically, making sure his comrades and himself weren't in any immediate danger. Finally, realizing what had awoken him, his eyes fell on Piper.

"Piper!" he cried softly, flicking a lock of hair from her face. "Piper, Piper! You're awake." He looked so happy, as though he needed nothing more in the world.

She was tired. Only calling him had sucked her energy out, so she settled for a smile. He seemed to take it the right way, saying, "I was so worried. So worried…" his eyes drifted to her side, now covered with a thin blanket. "They said you'll be just fine, but you're gonna need at least a month's rest."

"A month?" she managed to croak. She couldn't be incapable for an entire month!

"Yes," he replied firmly, knowing exactly what was going on in her head. "I'm calling the doctor. Telling him you're awake." He stood, making his way to the door.

"Don't go…" she murmured, sleep already beginning to claim her.

He stopped in mid-step, looking at her fondly. "I'll be back before you know it."

He kept to his little promise, returning with the doctor at his heels. The doctor examined Piper, then asked for a nurse to change her IV. When the painful process was over, he said, "Miss Piper, I'll have them send you a light meal, then you should take the medicines. Rest is essential at this stage of your recovery. You're out of the woods, but it will be a while before you are cured fully." He nodded at Aerrow once, before heading out.

Aerrow traced her cheek with his thumb. "There was one point," he said grimly, "When the doctors said you might not make it."

Piper's breath caught in her throat.

"But you did." He stopped, looking at her seriously. "You're here. Right here. And you're going to be fine."

"_Now that we've escaped the orphanage, Aerrow," said Piper as the wind whipped past her. "What do we do?"_

_Aerrow was thinking about it, his twelve year old self, riding, to the best of his abilities, a stolen skimmer. Radarr, perched on his shoulder, wasn't making the job any easier. There were far too many distractions, and he knew that all his instinct should have been focusing on driving. Not chatting. _

"_Aerrow!" Piper was hanging on to his waist. She didn't like this skimmer at all. It was rattling and making too much noise. Not to mention emitting a lot of smoke. Which wasn't good for anyone. And certainly not the skimmer. _

"_I don't know," he muttered. "We'll see when we do it." He gritted his teeth. Planning this escape had all been his idea, and at the moment, he wasn't being a very good leader. Radarr squawked his opinion of distaste. _

"_Hey," Aerrow said defensively, "Do you WANT to go back to the orphanage? You're more than welcome to!"_

_Radarr chirped, sounding miserable. _

"_Exactly."_

_The night sky was making it impossible to see anything, and Aerrow just about spotted a tiny terra in the distance. "Okay folks," he declared, starting to pull up, "That's where we stay for the evening."_

_The skimmer hit the land harder and quicker than Aerrow expected it to. The machine drove itself forward without a break, and with a jolt of horror, Aerrow realized they were going to crash into the large tree before them. _

"_GET DOWN!" he shouted desperately, grabbing Piper's arm and pulling her along with him. _

_Radarr, Aerrow and Piper hit the grassy ground with a painful 'thud', causing all three of them to groan in agony. _

"_Everyone alright?" moaned Aerrow as he sat up, a couple of minutes later. _

_Radarr chirped in response, and Piper groaned in an affirmative. "We're alright," she mumbled as she sat up as well. "Where are we?" _

_Aerrow shrugged. "No idea."_

_Piper sighed, running a hand through her hair. She looked into the starry horizon and let out a silent breath. Aerrow put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he consoled, smiling. "We'll know at sunrise."_

_She smiled too. Sunrise. The word sounded very nice. _

Piper squeezed his hand in a moment of lucidity. She looked over to her teammates to see them stirring as they slowly woke. Aerrow looked too, to see Stork opening his eyes. Then he looked back at Piper again, giving the world an unconscious smile.

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**A/N: This chapter marks the end of the story. This is by far my shortest multi-chapter, and I must say, even if it sounds a bit boastful, I'm quite pleased with the way it came out. I want to thank all my readers and all my lovely reviewers. Thanks for the motivation, guys! I hope I did ya'll justice. :) **

**Ciao! **


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